All posts for the month October, 2011

Snow in October!!! Competing with Halloween!!

The weatherman touts the approaching snow with the facts that makes this indeed record-breaking snow. It is very unusual to have snow in October in New York, and especially just before Halloween. The early season snowstorm was the result of unseasonably cold air mixing with a storm system on the East Coast.

Saturday 29th October 2011 will become part of past records dating as far back as 1876. And will be the fourth occurrence in that many years.

It is important to note that the reference to “record” is not the amount of snow measured, but the fact that it occurred in OCTOBER.

This is only the fourth time the city has had snow before Halloween – and it’s the most by far. By 8 p.m., Central Park counted 1.3 inches of snow, beating out the previous record of .8 inches for October. The final tally was expected to hit 5 to 8 inches.

Most people are fatigued by the media and newscasters over hyping any little snow storm (you would think if they have lived with this all their lives, it just becomes another occupational hazard to deal with in a busy lifestyle). So the expectation that this would be anything to even consider (2 inches of non settling snow).

So for once, the media did not hype this to nauseam and the Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy joined New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick in issuing emergency declarations for their respective states. A refreshing situation of less media hype and states well prepared to execute cleanup services.

Forecasters’ predictions of power outages and downed trees in some areas bore fruit, as hundreds of thousands were without electricity as of Saturday afternoon. The reason is that the moisture content — thus density — of the falling snow was particularly high given temperatures hovering around the freezing point.

The powerful nor’easter caused flight delays and some areas experienced loss of electricity.

Our Metro-North train service was suspended on the busy Harlem line north of North White Plains due to numerous downed trees.

The snow isn’t expected to linger for long, and when looking outside my window, the ground is already visible and roads and sidewalks had been cleared. Already a distant memory.

I took a walk to our little village to capture the unusual event and Halloween decorations, now covered by snow.

Upon arrival we were met by delightful hostesses who assisted us in getting our table seating from the “Name Tree”.

TANYA JACKSON AND EDITH KORDA

Guests were welcomed by traditional Indian Sitar and Tabla players.

Flowers everywhere!

A tree full of traditional Indian bangles for guests to choose and adorn themselves

A loud gong ushered guests to the grand dining room for the start of a memorable evening.

The dinner tables were decorated with candles and pink orchids floating in golden urns to commemorate the Diwali celebration, commonly referred to as the “festival of lights” – one of India’s most important celebrations.

The grand place settings

Beautiful orchids were everywhere

Distinguished Guests

TIRU IRANI AND EDITH KORDA

“The Taj at Apollo Bunder” book arrives on stage for its grand unveiling

Indian British novelist and essayist, Salman Rushdie speaking about the history of the Taj Hotel in Mumbai.

Opening remarks by Taj’s CEO Raymond Bickson at The Pierre’s book launch of Taj at Apollo Bunder

Suhel Seth reads Taj’s Finest Hour and how the Taj team puts their guests above all else, even themselves. In reference to 26/11 “We can be hurt but we can’t be knocked down.” The Taj represents the tenacity of the human spirit and will stand for another 100 years.

Suhel Seth requested guests to stand up and applaud the resilience of the Indian people and the tenacity in which they recouped after the attacks.

SUHEL SETH

TORY BURCH AND ADRIEN BRODY READING EXCERPTS FROM THE BOOK TAJ AT APOLLO BUNDER, RECOUNTING SOME OF THE ENTERTAINERS WHO HAVE STAYED AT THE TAJ

Michael Douglas joined the stage in reading from “The Taj at Apollo Bunder” book

A most pleasant experience to enjoy the TAJ HOTEL’S hospitality and to learn of the iconic Taj in India.

The Taj Hotels have their flagship hotels all over the world with The Pierre being their flagship hotel in New York and not to mention the Taj Hotel in Cape Town South Africa.

The evening was a tremendous success and a most wonderful time was had by all. The guests enjoyed the remainder of the evening dancing and socializing the night away.

Celebrities at the end of the evening after the unveiling of “The Taj at Apollo Bunder”

On occasions, when I am at home and doing a few non-essential tasks,(is there really such a thing?) I have the TV channelled to the Dr. Oz show. Now, I like to watch this from time to time as it is quick and simple bits and pieces of very general information that gets dished out, does not require a great amount of concentration.

So I watched DR. OZ and he said for low carb beans and good nutritional value LUPINI BEANS ARE EXCELLENT.

VIEWER BEWARE!!! This kind of advice does not come with a “how to” segment – NO! It is aimed at a quick dispensing of information to fill the time slot in television speak and to keep the ever declining attention span of its audience to a minimum.

OK so I went to the store – a Mediterranean store with an abundance of beans – a selection like no
other. Armed with my newfound knowledge of the great nutritional value (especially Lupini Beans according to Dr. OZ – anything low carb gets my attention) of beans I started to stock up.

Arrived home and very enthusiastically decided to combine 3 types of beans together – the Lupini Beans being part of the trio. I made quite a large amount as I was intending to make a few different dishes.

After soaking them for 24 hours, they boiled and boiled and boiled. I decided to have a quick taste of my handiwork and nearly gagged!

All the beans were now bitter and the black beans have stained all the other beans BLACK!!!

I am confronted with a pot full of BITTER BLACK BEANS!

Perplexed I looked at this and could not understand what was the cause of this. Needless to say I tried to rectify and re-wash, re-rinse, re-salt, de-salt, re-cook to no avail. Eventually I had to admit defeat and flushed it down the toilet. I HATE to waste anything, let alone food – I was not a happy chef.

So I decided to do a quick search on the internet – Of course this would have been helpful to do this research BEFORE I started cooking the beans – but alas I did not …….

I found a slew of results which had me screaming with laughter – and felt a lot better that I was not the only one who fell victim to the challenging LUPINI BEANS!

Some of the remarks/advice was to just toss it and buy it in a can. Others were a little more encouraging and offered advice on how best to make them edible. And some even offered recipes.

I was ready to toss it when the very last thread changed my mind to NOT tossing what was left of these darn beans.

My friend from England wrote this in response to my dilemma:

“Can’t you buy them ready to eat instead of all the faff? My gosh I have never heard of such rugged beans – imagine when humans first thought of eating them and who was the weird one who persisted until they tasted nice???” Which had me in another fit of laughter…

(This is the same friend who posed the question about the first person to discover eggs. “I wonder who was the first human to see something coming from a chicken’s ass and decided to eat it? OK, I digress, that is another story and another post~! LOL!)

So I decided I will try one more time and put it to the test and report. Lupini Beans apparently are very popular in Italy and is used for cooking purposes as well as a nutritious and tasty treat.

They’re an odd bean in a couple of ways. They have a very tough skin, not quite as tough as favas, but tough enough so that the classic way to eat them (after cooking) is to bite the skin’s tiny hole to make it a little bigger, then squeeze the bean directly into your mouth. (You can eat the skin if you like – yes You! Let me know – the one and only person in the universe – that is eating it with the skin!)

But the really odd thing is that they take days — or longer — to get ready to eat. What makes lupinis edible is repeated rinsing, or rinsing and soaking, or rinsing and soaking and cooking.

If you live in the suburbs, and have lots of room, you can leave them in a pot in the basement sink with a trickle of water running over them. Treated that way (or in the even more fun way of putting them in a pillowcase, and putting the pillowcase in a stream – that is if you have a stream in your back yard like everybody has of course), the bean’s bitterness is removed in a couple of days.

If you live in the city, you will need to change the water two or three times a day for five days to get them to the point where they are ready to cook; a few minutes of boiling every now and then seems to hasten the process, but not much. Basically it’s soak, rinse, repeat: Forever. (You’ll know when they’re ready when you bite into one and it tastes good instead of bad.) A very complicated conclusion! (I am going to write a paper on that!)

Then, you simmer them as you would any other legume, until tender. Eat them as a snack, sprinkled with salt, lots of pepper and, if you like, a little olive oil. Or as a side dish, with olive oil, parsley, and lemon, or a bit of pimento.

Pick over beans to remove any debris. Soak overnight, drain and rinse. Cover by several inches with fresh water and simmer for an hour.

Drain, rinse well, and cover with salted water (about 1 tablespoon per quart of water). Refrigerate.

Repeat this process every day for 5 days, or until the soaking brine is no longer bitter. (My beans took 7-days to get all the bitterness out and then I soaked it for an additional 3 days for good measure in salted water.)

Beans will keep for weeks, covered with lightly salted water and refrigerated.

To serve as a snack, drain desired quantity of beans, drizzle with olive oil and freshly ground black pepper.

We ate them just plain as a snack during happy hour – replaced chips (crisps) and peanuts

And then on other occasions as compliments to a salad

As a starter dish with garlic and lightly drizzled olive oil with fresh black pepper

As a snack with Virgin olive oil and choice of vinegar makes for a delicious snack

However, the beans are to be eaten without the shell, and after its been soaked for so long the skin just pops off. Quite delicious.

My experience with the Lupini Beans have opened my eyes to endless great opportunities of delightful snacks in many forms.

I am off to stock up at my favorite store on more of the challenging Lupini Beans, but I am extremely happy to have won the challenge!

Received an invitation to the exclusive cocktail party to view new paintings by Ana Tzarev at The Ana Tzarev Gallery which is centrally located in Manhattan just a few blocks from Central Park.

On view October 13 – December 3, 2011 – This exhibition features large-scale multi-paneled works by Ana Tzarev, many of which have not been shown in New York. The work continues the artist’s exploration of nature while evoking the experience of visiting Monet’s famous gardens at Giverny.

It is a lovely gallery and the curator did a sterling job of highlighting each piece to its full glory. If you are in Manhattan New York, it is well worth a visit. The gallery is located at 24 West 57th Street (between 5th & 6th Avenues) To read more about this fascinating artist: www.anatzarev.com

Ana Tzarev was present at the opening and a very gracious host, she signed catalogues and posed for photographs with guests. A very pleasant experience.

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We ended our enchanting evening at The Plaza Hotel’s Champagne Bar.

Afterwards took a stroll along 5th Avenue to Rockefeller Plaza to see the ice rink being prepared for its anticipated opening this weekend, but alas, the weather did not comply as people are still walking around in t-shirts and flip-flops. The opening has been pushed back by a week.

Attending the event at PURO CHILE was a fun evening and certainly reminded us of the incredible ordeal that gripped the world’s attention one year ago TODAY 13 OCTOBER 2011.

In 2010, rescuers in Chile raced to locate 33 miners trapped in the San José mine and lift them to safety through nearly half a mile of solid rock.

More than two months after the mine collapsed, the world watched as the men emerged one by one from a specially designed rescue capsule, looking healthy and joyous. This unlikely rescue is a tribute to the extraordinary teamwork of experts and officials from Chile and around the world.

Present and on display at PURO CHILE, was one the rescued capsules (that was on standby in case the original one malfunctioned). It was quite eerie to see it all shiny and clean, and at the same time remembering what it represented to the desperate trapped miners.

Guests were invited to climb inside and have their pictures taken, but somehow it just did not feel right, and nobody seemed to take the opportunity. Instead pictures were taken of guests standing beside it, thumbs up – in memory of their ordeal.

Here is the actual capsule – all bright and shiny. A tribute to Survival, Endurance and Hope.

CHILEAN MINERS RESCUE CAPSULE

Saveur Magazine and Puro Chile presented an opportunity to learn more about Chile as a travel destination, and the introduction to its wonderful wines. (Puro Chile 221 Centre Street, Soho, Manhatten New York, NY -Tel: 212-925-7876 )

PURO CHILE - SOHO - NEW YORK

Chile has a Mediterranean climate, dry and hot during the day, but cool at night. The consistent weather, irrigation from the Andes Mountains, and geographic isolation of the country’s wine growing valleys from pests and insects produces ripe, flavorful grapes year after year. Combine this with considerably lower land and labor costs (most of the grapes are hand-picked) than the French counterparts, you get wine that packs a punch to your palate.

We met exceedingly nice people who were warm and happy to tell us the differences between this Carmenere-Merlot blend and that 100% Carmenere wine. The wine store is smallish, but interesting and varied – from sparkling wines whites, roses, and reds to Chilean dessert wines and more expensive and collectible bottles (like that famous Clos Apalta from Casa Lapostolle….)

The wine racks are modern and sleek with rotating shelves and clear labels. The bright lighting emphasizes the rich array of jewel toned wine (from citrines to amber to deep red garnets) and causes the whole display to sparkle like modern stained glass. The fetching picture is accompanied by very reasonable prices, and delicious wine.

In memory of the rescued miners, their wonderful story of survival and endurance can be seen at the Smithsonian in Washintong DC.

The men say they simply did what they had to do to survive. “We followed orders and we respected everyone’s opinion so that nobody would feel like they were in desperation,” Rojas said in Spanish. “It was a terrible situation, but we controlled that and that’s why we are where we are.”

Rojas had three family members in the mine with him, and he’s perhaps best-known for proposing to his girlfriend immediately after being freed. The two are now married.

Urzúa and Rojas spoke at a workshop on leadership this past Tuesday, Oct. 11 (4:30-6 p.m.) at the Museum of Natural History’s Baird Auditorium.

Another special event Tuesday (7-9 p.m.) included a premiere of the documentary film “Chilean Mine Rescue” and an appearance from the filmakers and a Smithsonian Channel exec.

Both men said they hope their experience will show the world that in a dark place, it’s important to never stop searching for the light at the end of the tunnel — whether literally or figuratively.

The Boston.com featured a wonderful pictorial of their ordeal, survival and rescue.

Today we all celebrate and remember the collective world wide sigh of relief at the miracle of life and survival.

Enjoying our orchestra seats at Radio City Hall, we settled in to watch the spectacular Cirque du Soleil’s Zarkana – an acrobatic rock opera that blends circus arts with the surreal to create a world where physical virtuosity rubs shoulders with the strange.

The story follows Zark, a magician who has lost his powers – and the love of his life – in an abandoned theatre populated by a motley collection of off-the-wall characters and incomparable acrobats. He runs into the Mutants, four sirens as sinister as they are fabulous, who are determined to divert him from his quest.

Zarkana is a visual vortex set in a slightly twisted musical and acrobatic fantasy universe where, little by little, chaos and craziness give way to festivity and love regained.

It was a fun show, and the fact that it was staged at the famous Radio City Hall has enhanced its visual appeal. The production of the show was very spectacular and the creativity directors did a most fabulous job.

The show itself was a little lame and the music not its best score. The music was overwhelmingly loud, and perhaps it could be attributed to the fact that the theatre was half empty. But overall we had a fun time and a deep appreciated for the dedication of the performers.